Nigeria to Set Up Agency for Investment in Gold, Iron Ore, Others

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, has disclosed plans by the federal government to set up the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, a state-backed agency to help attract investments into the extraction of gold, coal, iron ore, bitumen, lead, limestone, and baryte.

In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Alake said this was part of efforts to boost investments into Nigeria at a time when the government was struggling with much-needed revenue.

“The proposed corporation will seek and secure partnership investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide to leverage on the attractive investment-friendly regime operating in the country to secure massive foreign direct investment for the mining sector,” Mr Alake said in the statement.

Mr Alake did not give a timeline for the achievement, but this would allow the country to play a much bigger role in its economy by expanding its mineral extraction sector and diversifying the economy from oil, which has plunged over the last three years.

This means that other existing like the National Iron-Ore Company and the Bitumen Concessioning Programme – will be reviewed to fit into the new company. The minister also hinted that a task force will be instituted in October to detect illegal mining in the country.

The new corporation will engage local financial institutions, which have shied away from the mining sector in the past due to a long gestation period for projects, to promote investment, Mr Alake said.

This move will help President Bola Tinubu plan to improve Nigeria’s investment climate and draw foreign investors to Africa’s biggest economy.

Mr Tinubu inherited a struggling economy with record debt, shortages of foreign exchange and fuel, a weak Naira currency, inflation at a nearly two-decade high, skeletal power supplies, and falling oil production due to years of underinvestment, crude oil theft, and pipeline vandalism.

His administration has said it will seek to promote investments rather than rely on borrowing to create jobs.

Business Post reported that Mr Tinubu plans to attend the forthcoming G20 summit to promote foreign investment in Nigeria and mobilize global capital to develop infrastructure.